A pressure group in Rivers State, the Rivers First Movement, RFM, has accused the state’s political leadership of economic mismanagement, rising unemployment, insecurity and the “cartelisation” of public wealth, and is demanding an independent audit of government finances spanning more than a decade.
Addressing journalists in Port Harcourt, the group’s Director General, Maobuye Nangi Obu, described the state’s trajectory as “disturbing”.
Obu alleged that political leaders now prioritise personal ambition over collective progress. He said Rivers has drifted from its founding ideals, with governance centred on individual interests rather than public welfare.
Citing data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the group said Rivers accounts for about 13.4 percent of Nigeria’s total unemployment figure, blaming successive administrations for failing to address joblessness and linking it to youth restiveness and crime.
Obu further alleged that the state’s wealth has been concentrated in the hands of a few, leaving many residents in hardship.
He criticised the poor state of public schools and hospitals despite significant budget allocations, and raised concerns about sanitation, insecurity and what he described as inflated project costs.
“Today, the labours of our heroes past, who fought for and advanced the common patrimony which we all share Today have been trampled upon by the treasonable actions of a few self-serving individuals beguiled by fawning voices too timid and acquiescent to speak the truth to power.
“Unfortunately, since the inception of this administration, the rate of unemployment in the State has been on the increase indicating the administration’s inability to flatten this catastrophic curve.
“Today, Rivers State accounts for about 13.4% of the total ‘unemployment’ rate in Nigeria (NBS data).
“We must face the truth as Rivers people: The truth is that the wealth of Rivers State has been “cartelized” and commandeered by a few while the vast majority of Rivers people have been subjected and sentenced to penurious living.
“The truth is that our schools are too dilapidated to serve as places of learning because the future of Rivers children have been set aside for the primitive accumulation of our collective wealth by a few individuals using politics as a veritable tool,” he said.
Obu also accused former Governor Nyesom Wike and Governor Siminalayi Fubara of allowing personal political disputes to overshadow governance, alleging that recent developments, including the dissolution of the State Executive Council, were driven by undisclosed political arrangements rather than public interest.
The group said the crisis in the state is rooted in power struggles, not policy differences, and announced plans to mobilise residents at home and in the diaspora for what it described as a mass political awakening.
It called for an immediate independent investigation and forensic audit of all financial transactions by the Rivers State Government from May 29, 2015, to January 31, 2026, insisting that citizens deserve full disclosure of how public funds have been spent.
The RFM pledged continued advocacy for transparency and accountability, warning that it would no longer remain silent over what it described as the diversion of public resources under the guise of projects.
“We therefore beckon on people of goodwill to join us in this rescue mission championed by the Rivers First Movement to return Rivers state to its former pristine glory.
“To this end, we hereby use this medium to call for an immediate independent investigation and audit of all the financial transactions in the State in the name of projects, spanning from May 29*2015 to January 31st, 2026. Rivers people deserve to know this.”
